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But since the start, they rub a 1" by 1" round sore on his back (left side) towards the rear end of the saddle. His back is mostly brown but it's white where the rub mark shows. So that's the most sensitive skin on his back to make matters worse.

Jan: He started out VERY crooked and would always try to carry me on his left side to the point where my butt print on the saddle after riding was NOT centered.

The sore did heal at one point when we added extra pads and his summer coat grew in--he had been clipped.

***I had been using two sheep skins and a thin line on him but I don't think they are a 100% cure for the issue. I can still see some rubbed skin. In the Texas heat they just get soaked, squished, and become not soft anyhow...
He does NOT get ridden lightly and his flat work is exceptional enough [for a little paint horse] that I sit most of the time now to do all the fun lateral work. So with increased work and lateral movement it looks like his back is rubbed again...
His dressage days are usually 1+ hours.

***I had been using two sheep skins and a thin line on him but I don't think they are a 100% cure for the issue. I can still see some rubbed skin. In the Texas heat they just get soaked, squished, and become not soft anyhow...

Okay, so let's clarify. Do you mean you were using a sheepskin pad directly on his back? I'm trying to picture this setup.

I think I could cut out the section that falls over his pressure sore and use just a thin square pad underneath instead of a sheepskin.

I was on board with this idea until you said "use just a thin square pad underneath." I think that thin square pad would still rub.

But keep talkin' and maybe the COTH collective will come up with something...

I put this thread up yesterday just before seeing the thread concerning Boyd. I then totally forgot about it, it no longer seemed important...

Napoles: I clipped him when I started riding him so at that time we didn't know that he would have rub issues. I did not leave a saddle patch but this winter I certainly will.

j4j: Thanks. This is my mother's trail pony--after selling my horse I needed one to play with. I stole him. : )
Last year I did a little bit with him and then started true work with him this January. He's a genius. All this time (we've had him for 6 years) we thought he was just a dumb pasture horse. lol. the little booger jumps CUTE. here he is when we first figured out he could jump. http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...boom/toby1.jpg

****
I love these foam pads. I use this pad also as make shift gusset on my dressage saddle. My horses always need the front lifted slightly. So I take this pad, cut it in half and then cut out a section over the withers. It works wonderfully. http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...therreleif.jpg

If I had to use three pads to make a saddle semi-fit, I wouldn't use that saddle on that horse. Have you ever worn two pairs of socks and felt the rubs? Same theory. If the saddle is rubbing in back, it may well be too narrow (or have too many pads making it fit as if too narrow) and therefore too lifted in front/putting too much pressure on the back. That would be my guess anyway based on what I remember of pics of you on other horses vs. Toby - his back looks wider/flatter if I remember correctly.

It also sounds like your saddle is too wide for your other horses if you always have to put something under the front to make it fit them.

You do what you want, and if your options work with your other horses that's great. Just thinking maybe you want to really consider saddle fit more than just more pads. If you have three pads on a horse it will generally sweat everywhere from the heat of it unless there are pinching points - any open spots will still likely sweat. That alone doesn't give all the answers you need.

I went to the sheepskin wool mattes pad to avoid rubbing. It will wick the sweat away from the back and it won't chafe like wet cotton. There is a reason that the endurance riders use sheepskin for the pad closest to the horse. It sounds like the saddle isn't fitting and rocking. Be careful that you aren't getting too much under the saddle and changing the balance. (My vet is a multiple world champion in endurance)

Have you checked the saddle for hard knots in the panels, especially where the pressure sore is?

Since you are in Texas, you might be close enough to Janek Vluggen's osteopathy institute to see if osteo might release whatever caused the unevenness. (I know from my DH from Lubbock, that close is a relative term in Texas,.

Friends horse had a huge rub on his spine from where the lacing on her western saddle is. She used new saddle bags that were full and they just ground through her heavy pad!
The horse is still using a pad that has been cut out to accommodate that area. It formed scar tissue and may always be a problem. This happened Oct last year.
IMO instead of building up more and more padding on the affected area you need to cut away a space on a pad so there is no pressure at all! Oh yes, this was recommended by her Vet and so far it works well.

"My treasures do not sparkle or glitter, they shine in the sunlight and nicker to me in the night"

I went to the sheepskin wool mattes pad to avoid rubbing. It will wick the sweat away from the back and it won't chafe like wet cotton. There is a reason that the endurance riders use sheepskin for the pad closest to the horse. It sounds like the saddle isn't fitting and rocking. Be careful that you aren't getting too much under the saddle and changing the balance. (My vet is a multiple world champion in endurance)

Have you checked the saddle for hard knots in the panels, especially where the pressure sore is?

Since you are in Texas, you might be close enough to Janek Vluggen's osteopathy institute to see if osteo might release whatever caused the unevenness. (I know from my DH from Lubbock, that close is a relative term in Texas,.

The cotton pad will be closest with the new set up. With foam (with pressure cut out) on top.

I've been using sheepskin and the saddles don't rock. It's not working.

My saddles are felt and foam flocked. I don't like wool for that very reason.

Friends horse had a huge rub on his spine from where the lacing on her western saddle is. She used new saddle bags that were full and they just ground through her heavy pad!
The horse is still using a pad that has been cut out to accommodate that area. It formed scar tissue and may always be a problem. This happened Oct last year.
IMO instead of building up more and more padding on the affected area you need to cut away a space on a pad so there is no pressure at all! Oh yes, this was recommended by her Vet and so far it works well.

I agree. My vet mentioned it as well--I tried really hard to find a method that did not include destroying expensive pads--but alas, destroying pads is in my future.
I'm hoping a cut out will help. Glad to hear someone else used the method with success.

purp I hate to say it, but it may come down to cutting open the cotton under-pad as well. I know from my track running days that nothing short of cutting a hole around the sore and making sure nothing abrades that area is going to fix a sore. You can certainly start with just the Wintec foam pad and see how it goes, but be prepared to chop up a cheapie cotton saddle pad as well!

purp I hate to say it, but it may come down to cutting open the cotton under-pad as well. I know from my track running days that nothing short of cutting a hole around the sore and making sure nothing abrades that area is going to fix a sore. You can certainly start with just the Wintec foam pad and see how it goes, but be prepared to chop up a cheapie cotton saddle pad as well!

Is your cotton pad long enough? Some people have been complaining about pressure points created by their square pads being too short underneath their sheepskin pads... but it sounds like maybe this is a different location. It's a thought, anyway.

Founder, Higher Standards Leather Care Addicts AnonymousCapitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse.

Is your cotton pad long enough? Some people have been complaining about pressure points created by their square pads being too short underneath their sheepskin pads... but it sounds like maybe this is a different location. It's a thought, anyway.

I've not used a plain cotton pad on him since the day the rubs started to show...

The only method of padding used on this horse since Jan 2011 is a square pad with sheepskin and a 1/2 sheepskin pad on top of that.

I can send you something to try if you pm me. It may be possible to just use 1 pad to fit the overall shape of the horse and then I can send you something that you can adhere to or shim the square or half pad.

I'm going to agree with netg - and even go one further to say that it almost looks like your saddle is tipped forward a hair in that photo. Think ever-so-slight bridging that makes the rear panels shift up and down with each stride.

Not to add more padding to your princess and the pea situation, but see if you can change the balance just a tiny bit to lift the pommel.

Alternatively, without seeing it in person I might think that your saddle is just the wrong shape (i.e., flat on a horse that needs a banana).

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what
lies with in us. - Emerson

I'm going to agree with netg - and even go one further to say that it almost looks like your saddle is tipped forward a hair in that photo. Think ever-so-slight bridging that makes the rear panels shift up and down with each stride.

Not to add more padding to your princess and the pea situation, but see if you can change the balance just a tiny bit to lift the pommel.

Alternatively, without seeing it in person I might think that your saddle is just the wrong shape (i.e., flat on a horse that needs a banana).

I agree, it looks like it is tipped down in front in the dressage photo. Have you had anyone take a video of you from the rear to see what is going on? He is a cutie so I hope you can resolve this quickly!

nah. It sits quite straight when he's standing and does not bridge.
I would love to blame in on the saddle but my jumping saddle rubs him in the same spot.

both of my saddles have banana shaped panels.

I'll wait for pictures, but...

Is it possible that banana shaped panels are not the ideal fit for his back, and/or it sits level when he's standing, but doesn't STAY level once he's in motion and presumably lifting his back more?

Otherwise, I don't know. A friend of mine had started seeing rubs like this with her banana-shaped dressage saddle and they stopped when she got a different saddle - this is where my earlier thoughts came from.

Cutting holes in every pad you use on him so they don't come back sounds expensive! And doesn't really seem like a remedy to the (yet unknown) cause.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what
lies with in us. - Emerson